When things are going great in our lives it’s easy to give
praise and glory to God. When circumstances are good, so is our God… right? People
who aren’t Christians aren’t really impressed by Christians who are wildly
successful, famous, and wealthy. They too aspire to have great wealth,
achievement, and fame and probably don’t associate God being the reason for
those blessings. Because if God were the sole reason for all of those blessings
why aren’t all Christians wealthy, famous, and successful?
God allows us to go through pain, trials, insults, unfair
circumstances and poor treatment because it’s our greatest platform to show a
world that doesn’t believe in God, that God is real! When we are able to find
joy through knowing Jesus Christ amidst all these painful circumstances, the
impact it has on people who aren’t Christians is unbelievable. When we go
completely against human nature and respond in a loving joyful way when we have bad things happen to us, it screams the gospel of Jesus Christ. People who
aren’t Christians are dumfounded by how you could possibly be joyful or loving
when they think you have no reason to be. When we are able to honor, respect,
and love people who dishonor, disrespect, and hate us, it shows a dying world the
love of Christ. This is our greatest opportunity for ministry because people
have nothing other to attribute our joy and happiness to other than the sole
fact of having a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Why in the world would Paul say this in the middle of a
trial in his life,
Three different times I begged the Lord to take
it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in
weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of
Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in
the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ.
For when I am weak, then I am strong. -2 Corinthians 12:8-10
Why
would someone ever take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships,
persecutions, and troubles?? Because Paul knew that these things were a great
opportunity for people to truly see the joy that comes from knowing Jesus Christ. It allowed people to see that his hope
and reason for living didn’t come from his circumstances but came from knowing
Jesus.
Pain, trials, and insults have always been
something I’ve run from and tried to avoid my entire life. I’ve been scared to
be hurt and I’ve been scared to feel pain. I’m really praying to be able to use
these opportunities in the future whenever I’m faced with them for the glory of God. I also pray that if you are a Christian that the God of mercy
and grace will encourage you today. If you are going through pain I pray that you know
how much God truly loves you and desires to spend time with you personally through a relationship with Jesus. This relationship with Jesus is the greatest joy we can ever encounter.
